Zoning › California › Santa Clara County › Sunnyvale

Sunnyvale, CA Zoning

11 districts. 7 overlays. 7 applicable state preemptions.

Overview

Worth knowing
  • R-5 uniquely permits hotels/motels as primary residential-zone use per §19.18 ('reserved for...residential alone or in combination with hotels or motels'). No other Sunnyvale residential district authorizes hotels as a primary use.
  • R-1.7/PD requires PD combining district per §19.26 — small-lot 14 du/ac district cannot be applied without a project-specific Planned Development overlay. The PD requirement is structural, not optional.
  • Moffett Park Specific Plan (Ord. 3218-23, 2023) introduced 'development reserve' bonus FAR system with neighborhood-level allocation AND nonresidential-development-rights-transfer mechanism — unusual for a CA city outside the SF/LA core.

+ 5 more in Quirks & notes

Districts

res_sf 6res_mf 3ind 2
CodeNameCategory Min lotHeight CoverageFAR Du/acParking Setbacks F/S/R
R-0R-0 Low Density Residentialres_sf6,000 sf[4]30 ft[5]0.4[6]0.45[7]—2[8]20[1] / 6[2] / 20[3]
R-1R-1 Low Density Residentialres_sf6,000 sf[12]30 ft[13]0.4[14]0.45[15]—2[16]20[9] / 6[10] / 20[11]
R-1.5R-1.5 Low Medium Density Residentialres_sf4,500 sf[20]30 ft[21]0.45[22]0.55[23]—2[24]15[17] / 5[18] / 15[19]
R-1.7/PDR-1.7/PD Small-Lot Residential (Planned Development)res_sf2,500 sf[28]30 ft[29]0.5[30]0.55[31]—2[32]12[25] / 4[26] / 12[27]
R-2R-2 Low Medium Density Residentialres_sf3,500 sf[36]35 ft[37]0.5[38]0.6[39]—1.75[40]15[33] / 5[34] / 15[35]
R-3R-3 Medium Density Residentialres_mf6,000 sf[44]35 ft[45]0.55[46]0.85[47]—1.5[48]15[41] / 5[42] / 15[43]
R-4R-4 High Density Residentialres_mf7,500 sf[52]45 ft[53]0.6[54]1.25[55]—1.25[56]15[49] / 5[50] / 15[51]
R-5R-5 High Density Residential and Officeres_mf10,000 sf[60]55 ft[61]0.65[62]1.6[63]—1[64]15[57] / 5[58] / 15[59]
R-MHR-MH Residential-Mobile Homeres_sf87,120 sf[68]25 ft[69]0.5[70]——1.5[71]20[65] / 10[66] / 10[67]
M-3M-3 General Industrialind20,000 sf[75]50 ft[76]0.6[77]0.5[78]—1.5[79]25[72] / 10[73] / 10[74]
M-SM-S Industrial and Serviceind20,000 sf[83]50 ft[84]0.6[85]0.5[86]—2.5[87]25[80] / 10[81] / 10[82]

Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found

Overlays

HH
Heritage Housing Combining District
historic
c§19.26; cross-ref §19.96
ITR
Industrial-to-Residential Combining District
other
c§19.26
MU
Mixed Use Combining District
downtown
c§19.26.220
PD
Planned Development Combining District
other
c§19.26.020
ECD
Ecological Combining District
environmental
p§19.29
FP
FEMA Floodplain Overlay (Special Flood Hazard Area)
floodplain
p§16.52
ALU
Airport Land Use / FAA Part 77 Overlay (Moffett Federal Airfield + Norman Y. Mineta SJC influence area)
airport
p§FAA_14_CFR_77; p§SCC_ALUC_Moffett_CLUP

State preemptions

CA-SB9-GC§65852.21+SB450applies
Qualifying condition
Sunnyvale is a CA general-law city; R-0, R-1 (and SF lots in R-1.5/R-2) are SF residential districts per SMC §19.18. Per-parcel exclusions: FEMA SFHA (Calabazas/Stevens/San Tomas Aquino corridors — ~5–7% of city), Cal-FIRE Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (no large hillside VHFHSZ in Sunnyvale — flat valley floor; verified absent on Cal-FIRE FHSZ map for Sunnyvale incorporated area), no coastal zone (~30 mi from coast), historic resource overlay (HH combining district triggers historic-district exclusion on per-parcel basis per §19.96 designation).
CA-SB423-GC§65913.4applies
Qualifying condition
Sunnyvale is in 6th-cycle RHNA (2023–2031, ABAG allocation: 11,966 units). SB 423 eligibility depends on whether Sunnyvale is meeting its annual production target per HCD Annual Progress Report (APR) determinations — if NOT meeting either above-moderate OR below-moderate cycle production proportionally, SB 423 streamlining triggers at the corresponding affordability tier.
Retrieval issue
HCD APR dashboard is JS-rendered SPA — current Sunnyvale 6th-cycle APR determination not fetched live this pass; per-project re-check required at submission
CA-AB2011-GC§65912.100applies
Qualifying condition
Sunnyvale has multiple commercial corridors that qualify under AB 2011 'commercial corridor' definition (right-of-way 70–150 ft wide with predominantly commercial uses): El Camino Real (SR-82), Mathilda Ave, Sunnyvale-Saratoga Rd, Fair Oaks Ave, Lawrence Expressway frontage. ECRSP and corridor C-zoned parcels qualify.
CA-AB2097applies
Qualifying condition
Sunnyvale qualifying major transit stops (per CA PRC §21064.3): Caltrain SUNNYVALE STATION (downtown, Evelyn Ave at Sunnyvale Ave) — primary; Caltrain LAWRENCE STATION (Lawrence Expy at Kifer Rd, on Sunnyvale-Santa Clara border) — secondary; VTA bus rapid corridors with 15-min peak headway on El Camino Real, Mathilda Ave, Wolfe Rd (subject to live VTA headway verification per parcel). VTA Light Rail does not directly serve Sunnyvale (terminates in north San José/Mountain View axis).
CA-ADU-GC§65852.2+SB1211applies
Qualifying condition
All CA cities subject. Sunnyvale implements via SMC Chapter 19.79 (Accessory Dwelling Units).
CA-DensityBonus-GC§65915+AB1287applies
Qualifying condition
All CA cities; applies to any qualifying project with affordability set-aside on R-2/R-3/R-4/R-5/MU/DSP/MPSP/LSAP/ECRSP parcels permitting residential.
CA-BuildersRemedy-GC§65589.5(d)(5)+AB1633+AB1893applies
Qualifying condition
Builder's Remedy availability contingent on HCD Housing Element (HE) certification status. Sunnyvale 6th-cycle HE was originally adopted to achieve compliance; current HCD certification status (substantial-compliance vs. non-compliant) requires live HCD dashboard query. ABAG 6th-cycle RHNA (2023-2031) is the controlling cycle.
Retrieval issue
HCD Housing Element Compliance dashboard is JS-rendered SPA; live certification status not fetched this pass
Non-applicable laws (2)
CA-SB10not_applicable
CA-CoastalCommissionnot_applicable

Adopted building codes

Statewide mandatory minimum

IBC
2024 CBC
IRC
2024 CRC
NEC
2023
IFC
2024
IECC (Residential)
2024 CALGreen
IECC (Commercial)
2024 CALGreen

Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.

Quirks & notes

  • R-5 uniquely permits hotels/motels as primary residential-zone use per §19.18 ('reserved for...residential alone or in combination with hotels or motels'). No other Sunnyvale residential district authorizes hotels as a primary use.
  • R-1.7/PD requires PD combining district per §19.26 — small-lot 14 du/ac district cannot be applied without a project-specific Planned Development overlay. The PD requirement is structural, not optional.
  • Moffett Park Specific Plan (Ord. 3218-23, 2023) introduced 'development reserve' bonus FAR system with neighborhood-level allocation AND nonresidential-development-rights-transfer mechanism — unusual for a CA city outside the SF/LA core.
  • Federal-state-conflict pattern on north Sunnyvale: FAA Part 77 (Moffett Federal Airfield) limits structure height; Santa Clara County ALUC reviews for compatibility; SB 423/AB 2011 ministerial pathways may collide with Part 77 height caps. Federal aviation supremacy governs — NOT a state preemption.
  • Two Caltrain stations (Sunnyvale + Lawrence) trigger AB 2097 ½-mi parking-elimination buffers covering most of downtown DSP and parts of LSAP; effectively eliminates parking minimums on a large fraction of higher-intensity parcels.
  • Three concurrent specific plans (DSP, MPSP, ECRSP, LSAP — actually four) produce significant zoning text outside the R/C/M/O base chapters; per-parcel zoning lookup REQUIRES checking the precise zoning plan map for specific-plan overlay before applying base R/C/M standards.
  • ECD (Ecological Combining District) is MPSP-specific and does not appear elsewhere in Title 19 — exists only within the Moffett Park Specific Plan framework (§19.29).
  • Lawrence Station Area Plan crosses Sunnyvale-Santa Clara jurisdictional line; Sunnyvale's portion regulated under SMC §19.35; do NOT conflate with City of Santa Clara's LSAP (FM-3 cross-jurisdiction risk).

Formulas

Definitions

height
Building height per §19.32.020 — measured from grade to highest point of structure; certain R-1 single-family dwellings limited to 30 ft within 75 ft of property line
lot_coverage
Building footprint / lot area per Table 19.32.020
far
Gross floor area / lot area per §19.32.020
du_ac
Maximum dwelling units per net acre per §19.18 (residential) or specific-plan chapters (19.28/19.29/19.35/19.36)
setback_front
Front yard per §19.34 — distance from front property line to nearest building face; multistory R-4/R-5 above 2 stories adds 0.5× front-wall height (§19.34)
setback_side
Side yard per Table 19.34.030
setback_rear
Rear yard per Table 19.34.030
parking
Off-street parking per Chapter 19.46; AB 2097 eliminates minimums within ½ mi of major transit

Capacity calculations

max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage
max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far
max_units_from_density
lot_area_sf / 43560 * du_ac
buildable_width_ft
lot_width_ft - setback_side_ft * 2
buildable_depth_ft
lot_depth_ft - setback_front_ft - setback_rear_ft

Massing explorer

Interactive 3D comparison across every district. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, use the slider to walk districts, and toggle applicable overlays in the right-side panel.

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Max height
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Floor area ratio
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Lot coverage
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Setbacks (F / S / R)
— ft
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Parking
— /unit
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Max density
— du/ac
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Min lot size
— sf
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District Category Height FAR Coverage Setbacks Parking Density Min lot Overlays

Sources & references

Primary source
Title 19 — Zoning (Uniform Planning and Zoning Code)
current through 2025 supplement · retrieved 2026-04-19
Citations
  1. [1] §19.34.030
  2. [2] §19.34.030
  3. [3] §19.34.030
  4. [4] §19.18
  5. [5] §19.32.020
  6. [6] §19.32.020
  7. [7] §19.32.020
  8. [8] §19.46
  9. [9] §19.34.030
  10. [10] §19.34.030
  11. [11] §19.34.030
  12. [12] §19.18
  13. [13] §19.32
  14. [14] §19.32.020
  15. [15] §19.32.020
  16. [16] §19.46
  17. [17] §19.34.030
  18. [18] §19.34.030
  19. [19] §19.34.030
  20. [20] §19.18
  21. [21] §19.32.020
  22. [22] §19.32.020
  23. [23] §19.32.020
  24. [24] §19.46
  25. [25] §19.34.030
  26. [26] §19.34.030
  27. [27] §19.34.030
  28. [28] §19.18
  29. [29] §19.32.020
  30. [30] §19.32.020
  31. [31] §19.32.020
  32. [32] §19.46
  33. [33] §19.34.030
  34. [34] §19.34.030
  35. [35] §19.34.030
  36. [36] §19.18
  37. [37] §19.32.020
  38. [38] §19.32.020
  39. [39] §19.32.020
  40. [40] §19.46
  41. [41] §19.34.030
  42. [42] §19.34.030
  43. [43] §19.34.030
  44. [44] §19.18
  45. [45] §19.32.020
  46. [46] §19.32.020
  47. [47] §19.32.020
  48. [48] i§19.46
  49. [49] §19.34
  50. [50] §19.34.030
  51. [51] §19.34.030
  52. [52] §19.18
  53. [53] §19.32.020
  54. [54] §19.32.020
  55. [55] §19.32.020
  56. [56] i§19.46
  57. [57] §19.34
  58. [58] §19.34.030
  59. [59] §19.34.030
  60. [60] §19.18
  61. [61] §19.32.020
  62. [62] §19.32.020
  63. [63] §19.32.020
  64. [64] i§19.46
  65. [65] §19.34.030
  66. [66] §19.34.030
  67. [67] §19.34.030
  68. [68] §19.18
  69. [69] §19.32.020
  70. [70] §19.32.020
  71. [71] §19.46
  72. [72] §19.34.030
  73. [73] §19.34.030
  74. [74] §19.34.030
  75. [75] §19.22
  76. [76] §19.32.020
  77. [77] §19.32.020
  78. [78] §19.32.020
  79. [79] §19.46
  80. [80] §19.34.030
  81. [81] §19.34.030
  82. [82] §19.34.030
  83. [83] §19.22
  84. [84] §19.32.020
  85. [85] §19.32.020
  86. [86] §19.32.020
  87. [87] §19.46

Research status

Publication gates

primary url presentpassedsource.primary_url = https://ecode360.com/42729480 — canonical codified URL for Sunnyvale Title 19. Present in profile source block and in markdown header. Not an aggregator. Cloudflare-gated to scripted fetch but resolves in browser.
no aggregator citedpassedProfile + markdown scan: zero citations to Zoneomics/Steadily/SitePlanGuide/SitePlanCreator/Zonara/Unzoned/Propwire. All citations resolve to SMC §-refs (19.18 / 19.22 / 19.26 / 19.28 / 19.29 / 19.32 / 19.34 / 19.35 / 19.36 / 19.46 / 19.96), CA Government Code (§65852.21, §66411.7, §65913.4, §65912.100, §65863.2, §65852.2, §65915, §65589.5), CA Public Utilities Code (§21064.3, §21670), FAA 14 CFR Part 77, or Santa Clara County ALUC Moffett CLUP.
confidence tags full formpassedAll confirmed claims carry c§X.XX form tied to specific SMC sections; partial claims carry p§; inferred claims carry i§. Preemption rows carry GC §-form or PRC §-form. No bare [confirmed] / [HIGH] / [MEDIUM] / [LOW] tokens remain anywhere in profile JSON.
overlays have parameters trigger confidencepassed7/7 overlays each carry non-empty parameters object (≥4 keys) + geographic_trigger string + status + citation + source_jurisdiction. HH / ITR / MU / PD confirmed at c§19.26/19.26.020/19.26.220. ECD / FEMA floodplain / FAA Part 77+ALUC are partial with what_is_confirmed + what_is_missing + retrieval_failure_reason populated (paired-field discipline satisfied, FM-8 avoided). Federal overlays carry federal_overlay_refs (FM-P discipline — not mis-tagged as state preemption).
preempt section city specificpassedstate_preemptions_applicable[] contains 9 entries (SB 9+450, SB 423, AB 2011, AB 2097, ADU/SB 1211, Density Bonus + AB 1287, Builder's Remedy/AB 1633/AB 1893, SB 10, Coastal). Each has Sunnyvale-specific qualifying_condition_checked with concrete primary-data inputs — dual Caltrain stations (Sunnyvale + Lawrence, PRC §21064.3) for AB 2097; ABAG 6th-cycle RHNA 11,966-unit allocation for SB 423 / Builder's Remedy; Cal-FIRE VHFHSZ verified ABSENT for SB 9; named commercial corridors (El Camino Real, Mathilda, Sunnyvale-Saratoga, Fair Oaks, Lawrence Expy) for AB 2011; ~30 mi inland for Coastal. Two under_review rows (SB 423, Builder's Remedy) carry paired retrieval_failure_reason + search_performed explaining HCD JS-SPA dashboard block. Not a link-stub.

Data quality

75%completeness38 confirmed32 partial4 inferred
Documented gaps
  • Table 19.32.020 (height/coverage/FAR by district) not retrieved live — height values for R-0/R-1.5/R-2/R-3/R-4/R-5 carry status=partial
  • Table 19.34.030 (front/side/rear yards by district) not retrieved live — setback values carry status=partial
  • Office (19.24) zoning district codes (likely O, OR, similar) not enumerated — chapter exists per §19.16 reference but specific district codes not retrieved
  • MPSP subdistrict codes (Table 19.29.050 land-use districts) not enumerated — exist per §19.29 but specific codes/parameters not retrieved
  • DSP block-level use table (Table 19.28.070) not retrieved live
  • ECRSP land-use designations (§19.36) not enumerated
  • LSAP nine zoning designations (§19.35) not enumerated
  • Chapter 16.52 (Floodplain Management — Title 16, not Title 19) not retrieved; freeboard ordinance value carries status=partial
  • HCD APR + HE Compliance dashboard (JS-rendered) — SB 423 and Builder's Remedy carry status=under_review pending parcel-level live check
  • Santa Clara County ALUC Moffett CLUP review-area boundary not retrieved live (federal/regional document)

Known issues

cohort:needs-dom-retrievalblocker:ecode360data:gaps-present

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